


Phantom Touch

by Psycho_Pop



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, M/M, Near Death Experiences, One Shot, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29135724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psycho_Pop/pseuds/Psycho_Pop
Summary: Dash had always seen Phantom as an untouchable and unstoppable force, one that he idolised but one he knew he'd never be in association with, not even as his biggest fan. But, it was strange how just one hug could change all of that for him, and he would learn to see Phantom in an entirely new light.
Relationships: Dash Baxter & Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 106





	Phantom Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Bit nervous... It's been a WHILE since I last wrote anything that I deem publishable. Thanks to those on Discord for the 'cuddle' prompt though! Even though, I doubt it's what you expected, I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Dash couldn’t forget Phantom’s touch. Not just because this was  _ Phantom,  _ his unstoppable and untouchable  _ idol  _ that he was holding nor was it because touching him felt unlike any sensation Dash had ever felt before, it was because it felt almost unbelievably right.

A few moments prior, everything had been different. He had been paraded around the Amity Park Mall by his friends as per usual; the chatter from the crowds reduced to nothing but white noise under Paulina’s sickly-sweet voice and Kwan’s offhand comments about various items on display; the summer sun shone down through the glass ceiling onto Star’s sunglasses and cellphone screen causing a rainbow effect to shine over her; and Dash absentmindedly waved his hand to cool himself down after working up a slight sweat from walking in the heat for so long. It had been a fun day. It had been a good day.

But in just a moment the entire atmosphere in the mall had changed. A dark shadow loomed across them as if a massive cloud had crossed over the sun, as Dash glanced up, a low rumbling noise sounded and he was sure it was just sudden thunder until a cacophony of screams erupted from the other side of the hall. As the friends tried to gain their bearings, they were forcefully pushed aside by the moving crowds trying to flood to the nearest exits, Star’s phone clattered to the ground and cracked but the sound was minuscule compared to the overwhelming noise surrounding them. Abandoning all prior plans, Kwan and Star caught on quickly and started sprinting away from the commotion, the crowd swallowed them up instantly. Dash could already guess what was going on at the other end of the hall, ghost attacks were commonplace in Amity Park. But Dash had no doubt that Phantom would be here any minute to resolve the conflict.

Dash could only assume that, that was what Paulina was thinking too. It would be stupid to stick around to watch Phantom do his work, they had been told that too many times to count, but as Phantom’s two biggest supporters (Dash swore  _ he  _ was the  _ biggest  _ supporter) they would do anything to get Phantom’s attention, even something as stupid as loitering in dangerous battle areas. Dash knew, of course, that he could handle anything a stupid ghost would throw at him, he was Dash Baxter after all, and if he couldn’t, well, Phantom would take care of it of course, he was cool like that, Dash wasn’t sure if Paulina could handle it, however. But as Dash contemplated his options and tried to gage the situation based on crowd commotion alone, Paulina was swept up into the crowd and clumsily pushed through a nearby door, screeching the entire way. This left Dash alone. He backed himself as close as he could into a shop wall, so as not to be taken as well. 

As the crowds started thinning out, but the noise from where Dash assumed the ghost was, was still escalating, Dash made a stupid but somehow brave decision to rush against the crowd, headfirst into the fight. Well, if everyone ran away, there would be no one to record the fight for the Phantom Phan-page, right? That was Dash’s reasoning anyway, nothing else, obviously. As Dash turned the corner, he stopped in awe (and, maybe, a little bit of horror) as he watched Phantom tactfully aim blasts at the ghost almost five times the size of him. It was like something out of a weird horror movie, except this was Amity Park, so it wasn’t really  _ that  _ weird of a sight. Dash fumbled with his cellphone and was prepared to hit record in order to catch the moment that Phantom finishes off the absolute monster of a ghost, but his sweating palms made him drop it with a loud clatter. He cursed and ducked down to grab it but as he looked back up he noticed all ten of the monster’s gleaming red eyes focused on him, he also noticed Phantom’s neon green eyes meeting his own in a nervous expression.

Before Dash could even get his mind up to speed with the situation he was in, the ghost reached out a long arm (a  _ very  _ long arm), and lashed out at the balcony and adjoining shops above Dash. Rubble and dust fell down on him and Dash could hear the dull creak as half of the floor above threatened to collapse. As the rubble started to fall, Dash felt his body freeze and his eyes fall tightly shut as he prepared for the deadly impact, he was stupid for thinking he could come here, and now he was going to die in a place, where he had abandoned his friends and the last thing he would see was Phantom’s glowing eyes making contact with his own. Every cell in Dash’s body was screaming to be moved but his mind was failing him as it knew that any effort he made to survive would be futile. 

The redness of the last remaining light that flooded into the building vanished underneath his eyelids. All he could see was the black of nothingness. He heard distant noises but couldn’t place any of them. Was that Phantom finishing off the ghost? Maybe. Maybe the afterlife was kind enough to at least let Dash know that the monster that had killed him was dead. Would Phantom be blamed for his death? He wouldn’t want Phantom’s last impression of him to be that he was a burden. That was one of the thoughts that flashed across his mind, but he couldn’t keep his thoughts coherent enough to focus on any of them.

As the world grew silent, Dash refused to open his eyes. He never felt anything hit him apart from several semi-large pieces of stray rubble. Maybe a large piece of rubble hit him and killed him instantly before he even felt it? He felt the hairs on the back of his neck and on his arms stand on end as a freezing wave of air hit him. Still, he refused to move. He didn’t even move when he became aware of a white light behind his eyelids. But he did feel himself involuntarily take in a breath when two cold arms(?) reached around his back and a head(?) rested at his shoulder. But his eyes snapped open at the sound of a strangely familiar voice.

“It’s… okay now…” It was a breathless and echoey sounding voice, it was definitely Phantom’s. As Phantom reassured him, Dash heard him release a long breath, almost as if he had been out of breath and was finally able to breathe easily again. Dash felt his surroundings freeze even more with the action, which was surprising considering their current environment. The rubble  _ had  _ in fact come down on him, but he had miraculously been protected by a conveniently shaped slab of thick ice that encased him in a small dome. The only light available came from Phantom himself, who was in the rubble covered ice dome with him.

But even though his eyes were now open and taking in the entire scene, his body was still frozen. Not because of Phantom’s ice or the freezing temperature but because Phantom was holding him in a tight hug. Phantom’s arms were wrapped protectively around his back and Dash could see his shockingly white hair peek out of his hood, his expression was unreadable while his face was pressed just below his shoulder. In shock, Dash moved so that his arms were wrapped around Phantom, reciprocating the hug. Hugging Phantom like this was unlike any sensation he had ever experienced before. Phantom’s entire body felt cold, even through his jumpsuit and newly-acquired hoodie and he seemed almost paradoxical in that his body was somehow both corporeal and intangible. The contact was tight but barely there and if Dash were to hug too hard he was sure his arms would slip completely through his form. Dash didn’t comment on Phantom’s previous reassurance, just focusing on the physical contact. 

While it seemed just moments ago that he was ready to accept his death, well, of course, he didn’t  _ want  _ to die, and his body seemed to agree as his heart was trying to beat it’s way out of his chest and adrenaline thrummed through him, making his ears rush and skull hum; now he was in the arms of his longtime idol and he didn’t know how to handle that information. He was certain that Phantom could hear his mind performing somersaults and his pulse running at a mile-a-minute. But even, Phantom was shaking slightly, though Dash wasn’t sure why.

As Dash’s mind eventually cleared and he leaned into the strange hug, he tried to commit the moment into his memory with every ounce of his energy. This was  _ Phantom  _ right here, he didn’t just hug random strangers; well, Dash knew he wasn’t a random stranger since he was Phantom’s biggest fan. But it was still strange. But strangely right? They seemed to fit perfectly in a way that Dash couldn’t quite explain. Kwan had always called him a hopeless romantic, and Dash had reluctantly warmed up to the title. After all, if fate didn’t exist, then what was this?

After what felt like an eternity but also no time at all, Phantom pulled away from the hug but moved his hands onto his in a strange hold and looked him in the eyes once more. Dash was nearly entranced. Phantom donned an expression that Dash couldn’t name, a tired smile that only reached his eyes half-way. Was he bored? Tired? Was it tranquillity? 

“You shouldn’t run into danger, ya know?” Phantom started quietly, “next time I might not be there, and well, surviving a near death experience twice? That’d be crazy.” He laughed half-heartedly at his own comment before letting go of Dash’s hands and turning away from him, starting to work on an exit from the dome. Dash’s eyes widened. Phantom hadn’t been tired  _ or  _ bored _ ,  _ he had been  _ scared _ ? Dash hadn’t known it was possible for someone as confident and upbeat as Phantom to be worried. Worried over  _ him?  _ Or was it something else? Dash continued his internal war with himself while Phantom skillfully removed the ice and rubble surrounding them. 

After Phantom had let Dash out of the dome, Dash had been reunited with his friend’s outside of the mall. Paulina had demanded answers on whether he had seen Phantom and if he had, had he mentioned her? Dash couldn’t answer any of his friends’ questions, as he wasn’t even sure if what he had been through was even real. Questions raced through Dash’s mind: had it been real? Had he really been that close to Phantom and done practically close to nothing? How had Phantom defeated that ghost so quickly? Had Phantom really  _ hugged _ him? Dash couldn’t find anything on any Phantom Phan-pages about that day’s incident and Dash was beginning to believe that he had imagined it all. But in the back of his mind, he could pull up the memory vividly, if nothing else was real, Phantom’s touch had been, he could practically feel it linger. What did it mean?

All Dash  _ did  _ know is that he’d left that situation with a whole new understanding of Phantom. He wasn’t that untouchable and all powerful entity that Dash had previously believed him to be. There was a part of Phantom that even seemed human, which was laughable, he had heard what the Fenton’s and all of the other ghost hunter’s had to say. He was no different from the other ghosts. But Dash had always known that he was different, and that hug had proved it for him. Phantom’s shaking and his tight hug was all real, it was all real fear. Dash found himself with more respect for him than ever. 

Little did Dash know that soon enough, he would be a lot more familiar with Phantom’s touches, be it only brushing fingertips, or good natured hugs or even heartfelt embraces, and every single touch would lead Dash to see Phantom as more and more human each time. Until one day, he would realise why Phantom felt that way at all.


End file.
